Player Ratings: Manchester City 0-1 Stoke City

Stoke City held off late pressure from Manchester City to record a 1-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.

The only goal of the game was scored in the second half by former Manchester United frontman Mame Biram Diouf, who carried the ball from deep inside his own half, before he found the back of the net with a low finish.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the performances of each of the players on show and have given them a rating out of 10.

Manchester City

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Goal

Joe Hart: The England number one should have done much better with Stoke's goal, but that aside, it was a nervy outing. At times, Hart looked a little hesitant to come out to clear the ball. (5/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: While Pablo Zabaleta is no doubt City's main right-back, on his debut, Sagna showed that he is very good cover. The Frenchman defended and attacked well throughout the game. (7/10)

Vincent Kompany: As City had most of the possession, there wasn't too much for Kompany to do. He could do little about the goal because it was scored on the counter-attack after a City corner. (6/10)

Martin Demichelis: Similar to Kompany, the Argentine didn't have much work to do. There were a couple of occasions where he was beaten for pace, but he got away with it. (6/10)

Aleksandar Kolarov: The Serbian is often seen as one of City's outlets and he did well today in an attacking sense. He put in two or three dangerous crosses, but his teammates failed to make the most of them. (6/10)

Midfield

Fernando: The midfielder didn't really have enough time to make an impact on proceedings before he limped off with a groin injury. Nevertheless, when he was in possession, he kept things simple and made some good challenges. (6/10)

Yaya Toure: Whether he is or not, Toure has not looked overly interested this season and that carried on today. He did hit the crossbar with one shot, but that was about his only contribution. (5/10)

David Silva: The playmaker didn't receive enough passes in the area of the pitch that he can cause damage. Having said that, any quality that City were able to produce came from the Spaniard. (6/10)

Samir Nasri: The Frenchman will be only too aware that he didn't have enough of an impact in the areas that matter. He was quiet and it was little surprise when he was replaced. (6/10)

Attack

Stevan Jovetic: Having scored twice against Liverpool last time out, much was expected of Jovetic. He struggled today and like Nasri, he can have little complaint that he was substituted. (6/10)

Sergio Aguero: He has, quite rightly, been nursed back to fitness by his manager, but some rustiness showed today. His touch was not always sharp and he failed to hit the target with a couple of efforts. (6/10)

Substitutes

Fernandinho: He came on during the first half, but he never truly adapted to the pace of the game. The Brazilian was booked and was then partly at fault for the Stoke goal. (5/10)

Edin Dzeko: The Bosnian had two headed chances that you would expect him to take, but he failed to hit the target with either of them. (5/10)

Jesus Navas: The winger made the biggest impact of all three of City's substitutes. His pace down the right flank caused problems, although his crossing left a bit to be desired at times. (6/10)

Stoke

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Goal

Asmir Begovic: City may have had 16 shots, but Begovic was only called into action twice. Both were good saves, though, while he also held numerous crosses to relieve the pressure. (6/10)

Defence

Phil Bardsley: The full-back was one of Stoke's best performers over the 90 minutes. He made countless challenges and interceptions, as well as showing great stamina to get forward and offer support to his attacking teammates. (8/10)

Ryan Shawcross: It was a real captain's performance from Shawcross, who put his body on the line time and time again. His reading of dangerous situations was so important. (7/10)

Marc Wilson: The centre-back's display mirrored the one put in by his partner Shawcross. In particular, Wilson was on hand to hack clear most of Navas's crosses in the second half. (7/10)

Erik Pieters: A steady display from the Dutch international, who did well against the pace of Navas. (6/10)

Midfield

Glenn Whelan: With City having so much of the possession, Whelan was needed to cover so much ground today. In fairness to him, he did just that with what was a real battling performance. (7/10)

Steven N'Zonzi: Like Whelan, N'Zonzi was needed to put in a major shift for his team and he didn't let anybody down. At times his passing was wayward, but his important challenges made up for that. (7/10)

Victor Moses: The end product was sometimes lacking, but Moses had Sagna worried on numerous occasions. The loanee from Chelsea showed good pace going forward, but he also didn't shirk his defensive responsibilities. (7/10)

Jonathan Walters: Back in the team following his goalscoring exploits in the League Cup, Walters put in a great shift, both offensively and defensively, before he was replaced at the break with what surely must have been an injury. (7/10)

Attack

Mame Biram Diouf: He struggled last week at Hull, but Diouf looked like a proper Premier League player at the Etihad. Aside from his goal, he caused a handful of problems and also should have been awarded a penalty. (7/10)

Peter Crouch: Playing as a lone centre-forward away from home can often be an unrewarding task, but Crouch carried out his duties really well. He held the ball up, as well as winning free kicks in dangerous areas. (7/10)

Substitutes

Peter Odemwingie: The half-time substitute looked very lively when he came on and almost set up a second goal for his side, but he picked up an injury and was replaced in the 64th minute. (6/10)

Charlie Adam: The Scot kept the ball well in the closing stages and also used his experience to win fouls, which in turn allowed the clock to tick down. (6/10)

Marc Muniesa: He was only on the pitch for the final few minutes, but he tracked Sagna's runs forward and didn't let the full-back have any time on the ball. (6/10)